The next day, the morning sun shone faintly.
The slender, tall horse girl smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothes and looked down coldly at the exhausted man, whose eyes were framed by heavy, dark circles.
“Stop playing dead.
Do not think I am unaware of your thoughts, and do not think you are innocent in all this.
I will visit you again tonight.
Your foundation is unimaginably weak, and your progress is far too slow.
You need to practice more.”
After a full night of “hard work,” he was completely drained of energy.
After borrowing the dorm’s bathroom to freshen up, the Emperor of the campus walked out of the room, still looking as radiant and full of energy as ever.
Meanwhile, Kato Akira was left lying on his bed like a withered flower, staring blankly at the ceiling as a single tear rolled down his cheek.
Only God knew how he had survived the night.
It was a nightmare no one could possibly accept.
It brought back memories of his parents screaming at him in anger before he reincarnated.
_____________
“How could you memorize this wrong?!
I truly cannot believe it!”
“Why would someone like you, who doesn’t even know when to advance or retreat, choose to become a Trainer?
Hehe, being a janitor is quite nice, isn’t it?
At least you wouldn’t have to memorize such things.”
“Does my failure bring you joy?
Excellent.
Then please write down the specific reasons for my failure, and explain why the Trainer system was established because of it.
Come on, on this paper, with neat handwriting and appropriate length.
Please.”
“By the way, during the preliminary Trainer qualification evaluation, my personal opinion accounts for a significant portion of the score.
In addition to the standard responses, there will be many critical thinking and supplementary questions.
So rest assured.
What do you think ‘following the training’ means for an Uma Musume?
Come on, let’s discuss it.”
“Our relationship is not one of friendship, so begging is useless.
All you have to do is study!”
(Damn it, how did this happen?!)
(Why didn’t I have to study this hard before I reincarnated, but now that I’ve crossed over, I’m forced to study like my life depends on it?!)
His original plan was to take his time, study at his own pace, and slowly gather resources.
But now, he had caught Symboli Rudolf’s eye.
What the hell was he supposed to do now?
There was no answer.
His first mistake was not paying enough attention when Mr.
C.B.
was wandering around.
And one misstep led to another.
C.B.
or Symboli Rudolf directly—it was just a concentrated explosion of his own bad luck.
Akira naturally understood this, but knowing it didn’t mean he could easily accept it.
(Everyone else is living peacefully, so why does she have to get involved in everything?Besides, what does your past suffering have to do with me?!
I just want to be a Trainer and make a ton of money!)
(Damn it…
before I reincarnated, I always fantasized about getting privately tutored at home by a high school girl in black stockings.
Why does the reality feel like this?!)
(Sigh…
In the end, I was the one who broke the rules.
Getting caught was inevitable.)
(Furthermore, it’s not like Symboli Rudolf wants to ruin her own reputation.
This so-called ‘secret’ won’t be held over my head forever.)
(Once this turbulent period passes and I actually become a Trainer, it will benefit her as well.
She can successfully sweep a potential scandal under the rug at Tracen Academy—why wouldn’t she want that?)
(…But still, being forced to do things I hate is just a pain.
He was so sleepy.
Akira entered Tracen Academy through the dedicated staff pathway.
While the students were still asleep, the janitors’ job was to clean up the trash and tidy up the corners of the campus.
A few horse girls were already doing solo training on the turf, but they were all completely immersed in their running.
None of them would randomly interfere with a janitor’s work or actively initiate contact.
Driven by the motto, “Guide the horses and let the light shine on them all,” these racing horse girls possessed an intense obsession with winning.
Almost none of them would ever question a janitor.
It was exactly like the setting of a video game—no one cares about the NPCs with repeating dialogue lines.
However, it wasn’t that no one cared.
They were just rare.
“Ojisan!
I brought some more snacks from my sister’s place.
Want to eat together?”
“Orfe…”
Seeing the chestnut-haired horse girl sneak up to him with a bright smile, offering a small box of treats like it was a treasure chest, Akira felt genuinely moved.
Orfevre might look small and incompetent, and she often did silly things, but it was impossible not to realize just how approachable and sweet she truly was.
Her round, purple eyes were absolutely adorable.
Sometimes her hyperactive emotions were a bit much, but Orfevre really was a rare, good kid.
No matter how many times he ruffled her fluffy hair, the young girl never showed the slightest resistance.
Compared to her, that bastard Rudolf was a terrifying symbol who only looked at his legs to mock his joint structure, the size of his soles, and his lack of explosive power, just to test if he could correctly recite the anatomy textbook.
Ah, those beautiful, rare legs in black stockings…
why did they have to belong to Rudolf?
“Orfe, you really are a wonderful kid…”
Is my outfit weird?”
“No, I was just thinking about what a good kid you are.
It would be great if you could stay this sweet forever…”
“Hehe…
If Ojisan thinks it’s good, then it’s fine by me.”
Seeing Orfevre scratch her cheek through her mask, blushing shyly, the physically and mentally exhausted Akira felt a wave of warmth.
Even though he still planned to squeeze her dry by making her run dozens of races in the future, he now roughly understood why the Trainer-Uma Musume system felt so appealing.
Having someone who trusted you completely in every aspect…
put simply, it was an incredibly wonderful feeling.
Meeting such a shy, devoted girl instantly lifted his spirits.
People really do need companionship to complement their lives.
“Ah, right, look at the time.”
Orfevre glanced at her watch and gently waved at Akira.
“Classes are about to start.
If you’re working here, Ojisan, wait for us during the afternoon break.
I’ll come find you with that Deep Impact girl.”
“Yeah…
wait, you guys already made plans?”
“Ah, yeah.
Since we secretly formed a little group, we decided to become friends first…”
“I see.”
Youth really was like that.
Even though Orfevre had been trembling the day before, they had already added each other as friends and started chatting.
But just as Akira was soaking in the sentimental moment, Orfevre nervously dug into her small bag.
With trembling hands, she pulled out her phone, looked up at the bewildered Akira, and asked in a quiet voice:
“Um, so…
Ojisan, do you want to add us as friends and join our group chat too?
I’m sure it would be really convenient.”
“Yeah, of course.”
“That’s great!”
Looking at the expectant Uma Musume, Akira naturally nodded.
A brilliant, shining smile instantly bloomed on the young girl’s face.
Ah, if only all Uma Musume were like her.
Watching Orfevre happily tap away on her phone, Akira felt like the deep wounds Rudolf had inflicted on his soul were slowly healing.
“Alright, focus on your classes now.
I’m going to get back to work.”
“Un!”
Orfevre happily turned and ran off with her phone, while Akira shook his head with a fond smile, adjusted his work cap, and walked away.
However, neither of them noticed a pair of bright blue eyes staring intently at their figures from a distance.
The eyes quietly vanished into the woods and never reappeared.